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Boston, visitors did not panic or give in to hate

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Monday April 22, 2013 6:43 AM

I thank
The Dispatch for the Wednesday editorial “Darkness won't prevail,” which noted how many
first responders ran toward the mayhem. And, of course, many in the immediate area rationally ran
from the scene, toward safety for themselves and loved ones.

But a little farther off, most people I saw just walked. Walked, paused to regroup and call
loved ones, and then walked to hotels and prearranged post-race meeting places as sirens and smart
phones and social media rapidly spread the realization of what the two loud booms were. And the
next day people walked to work, to subways, to hospitals to donate blood.

There was no panic, no hysteria. I saw no fear in Boston. I saw no hatred, just concern for the
victims, concern for the city. There seemed to be a quick realization that “things had changed”
once again, but there also seemed to be a resolve that that change would be as small as possible.
And maybe there was a sadness, like the quiet sadness that you forever carry for the loss of a
loved one, but with which you keep on going.